Background: 15% of hospitalized patients have a documented penicillin (PCN) allergy. However, fewer than 1% of those patients have a true IgE-mediated reaction that necessitates avoidance of beta-lactam antibiotics. Labeling a patient with a PCN allergy is associated with prescribing non beta-lactam (NBL) broad spectrum antibiotics and increased adverse outcomes. Patients with a documented PCN [...]

Background: ~ 1 in 10 patients has a penicillin allergy listed, but up to 90% of those patients may tolerate penicillins and/or cephalosporins. This inaccurate history and documentation leads to altered clinical decision making and the use of 2nd or 3rd line antibiotics, and can lead to adverse short and long term outcomes at both [...]

Case Presentation: We present a 53-year-old Caucasian male with a history of Ankylosing spondylitis and Sjogren’s syndrome who presented to the ED with cough, fever, fatigue and mild rash that appeared during his admission for a recent knee replacement. Discharged on cefadroxil, his symptoms persisted after completing treatment. No concerns for surgical site infection were [...]

Case Presentation: A 54-year old female was hospitalized for 3-week history of abdominal pain, chills, nausea and diarrhea. Her past medical history was significant for multiple self-reported antibiotic allergies, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass complicated by gastrojejunostomy leak, and prior perisplenic abscess requiring percutaneous drainage. On admission, blood pressure was 137/79, heart rate of 80, respirations 20, [...]